Distance. That’s what our days have been about so far. In three days in Africa we’ve covered the same distance as we did over two weeks in Europe. 2,400 kilometres behind us. Ahead of us our destination for four days … Chobe Bush Lodge. Nirvana. What struck us about the stretch between Nata and Kasane,…
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Coffee break in a continuous landscape of grassland and woodlands Day three, 2,000 kilometres down. From First World sophistication to vast, desolate, crusty salty flats in a day. We’re getting there. To begin with, we were all a bit gobsmacked at the modernity of Gaborone. The architecture is all glass and colour-blocks and sophisticated clean…
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Day Two of our three-day drive up to Botswana. Over 500 km, a 9-hour journey because of border formalities. It was a day of thornveld … red soils, yellow grasses, wiry thorn shrub, dusty skies. Vryburg, Taung, Mahikeng. We drove through a ramshackle village where arbitrary Stop signs suddenly appeared in the middle of nowhere….
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Hirsh started it. The kilometres were flying past us on our 770 kay, first-leg drive up to Botswana. His back was sore, my eyes were glazed, and we still had some way to go. Somehow Credo Mutwa — South African visionary, prophet, sangoma, and also an artist — became part of our conversation (without there…
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  Shamwari … it’s a name whispered with much reverence when speaking of game reserves in the Eastern Cape. Shortly before we set off for Tuscany-Provence it was our privilege to spend an inspiring four days there. Most of us South Africans can’t afford to get past Shamwari’s entrance gates … this is five-star territory,…
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       Shapes, lines, symmetry. Texture and contrast. That’s what black-and-white photography loves. A non-distraction of colour promotes a clarity of line. And without distraction, the tonal shades and shadows in-between begin to play mind tricks on you … creating optical illusions. Above: design flair in Provence.   Nuclear warfare? The Apocalypse? A warning against…
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Part of a giant poster of South Africa at O.R. Tambo airport. We’re home! We love travelling but, oh, we do so also love touching down in our beautiful country and stepping back into our lovely home in Knysna. And this post is to you … all my friends who responded with such enthusiasm and…
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  So … the principal reason for our trip to Israel … and by extension, Tuscany, and Provence. THE WEDDING. It was the celebration of a special nephew of Hirsh’s. It was also the most unconventional wedding we’ve been to. The setting was a vineyard originally established by Baron de Rothschild (actually, Abraham Edmond Benjamin…
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Israeli farming technology is unbelievably sophisticated. Watering of crops is done via drip techniques which, in many cases, is computerised and is often remotely controlled by phone. Below, at top left, the soil is being sterilised under plastic to rid it of bacteria that has accumulated after crops and plantings.            In this desert…
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Palm trees, palm trees, everywhere You don’t come to Israel for its beauty. You come here to get your eyes opened. Where we are in the south, the country is flat and arid. Other than the dusty tree groves and assiduously tilled farmlands, it’s baked earth and trimmed palm trees. As you drive around, there…
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